>Swift2469 at 13:04, 30 June 2021

2021-06-30T13:04:30Z

New page

{{short description|Indian industrialist}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kumar Mangalam Birla
| image = Lalu Prasad presenting the JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award to Shri Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group, Mumbai, at the Foundation Day of All India Management Association (AIMA), in New Delhi.jpg
| caption = [[Lalu Prasad Yadav]] presenting the JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award to Shri Kumar Mangalam Birla
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1967|06|14|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Calcutta]], [[West Bengal]], India
| death_date =
| nationality =
| alma_mater = [[University of Bombay]] ([[BCom]])<br>[[Institute of Chartered Accountants of India]]<br/> [[London Business School]] (MBA)
| occupation =
| title = Chairman, [[Aditya Birla Group]] and [[Vodafone Idea Limited]]
| spouse = {{marriage| Neerja Birla |1989}}
| children = 3, including [[Ananya Birla]] and [[Aryaman Birla]]
| parents = [[Aditya Vikram Birla]]
| networth = [[US$]]13.7 billion (June 2021)<ref name="Forbes profile">{{cite web |title=Forbes Profile: Kumar Birla |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/kumar-birla/ |website=Forbes.com |access-date=28 June 2021}}</ref>
}}

'''Kumar Mangalam Birla''' (born 14 June 1967) is an Indian [[billionaire]] industrialist, and the chairman of the [[Aditya Birla Group]], one of the largest [[Conglomerate (company)|conglomerates]] in India. He is also the chancellor of the [[Birla Institute of Technology & Science]],<ref name="corporate">{{cite web|url=http://www.adityabirla.com/the_group/km_birla_profile.htm |title=Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla - Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group |archive-date=10 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110201120/http://www.adityabirla.com/the_group/km_birla_profile.htm |access-date=27 December 2016}}</ref> and the chairman of the [[Indian Institute of Technology Delhi]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iitd.ac.in/admn/|title=Indian Institute of Technology Delhi {{!}}|website=Iitd.ac.in|language=en|access-date=2018-01-20}}</ref> and [[Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/education/kumar-mangalam-birla-appointed-as-new-chairman-of-iim-a-3097993/ |title=Kumar Mangalam Birla appointed as ne''w chairman of IIM-A | newspaper=[[The Indian Express]] |date=23 October 2016}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Birla is a fourth-generation member of the [[Marwari people|Marwari]] [[Birla family]] from the state of Rajasthan.<ref name="Forbes profile"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/money/slide-show/slide-show-1-the-story-of-the-first-couple-of-the-birla-empire/20110706.htm|title=The story of the first couple of the Birla empire|website=Rediff.com|access-date=6 February 2019}}</ref> He was born in [[Kolkata]] and raised in [[Mumbai]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kumar Mangalam BirlaBiography- About family, children, education, wife, age, and more|url=https://business.mapsofindia.com/business-leaders/kumar-mangalam-birla.html|website=business.mapsofindia.com|access-date=2020-05-07}}</ref> He did his high school from [[Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics]] and a bachelor's degree from [[H.R. College of Commerce and Economics]] of the [[University of Mumbai]]. He later studied at [[London Business School]] and was awarded [[Master of Business Administration]] from [[University of London]] in 1992. He is also an honorary fellow at LBS.<ref name=corporate/> He is a chartered accountant from [[Institute of Chartered Accountants of India]] (ICAI).{{citation needed|date= February 2021}}

==Career==
Birla took over as chairman of the Aditya Birla Group in 1995, at the age of 28, following the death of his father [[Aditya Vikram Birla]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Kumar Mangalam Birla History Maker Founder of Aditya Birla Group |url=https://www.indiaherald.com/Politics/Read/342384/Kumar-Mangalam-Birla-History-Maker-Founder-of-Aditya-Birla-Group |work=APHerald [Andhra Pradesh Herald] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=I had no choice but to grow up fast: Kumar Mangalam Birla|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/anniversary/story/20210104-i-had-no-choice-but-to-grow-up-fast-1753013-2020-12-26|url-status=live|access-date=}}</ref> During his tenure as chairman, the group's annual turnover has increased from US$3.33 Billion in 1995 to US$48.3 billion in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/saritharai/2015/10/19/in-india-a-158-yr-old-business-conglomerate-aditya-birla-group-forays-into-fashion-ecommerce/#365ca1732b7b |title=In India, A 158-Year-Old Business Conglomerate, Aditya Birla Group, Forays Into Fashion E-Commerce |website=Forbes.com |last=Rai |first=Saritha |date=19 October 2015 |access-date=27 December 2016}}</ref> According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Birla lost $3.1 billion between 2017 and 2019, with his net worth reduced to $6 billion. The major reason for this loss is "financial distress" that Vodafone Idea Ltd has been experiencing, in addition to the fall in "shares of flagship firms that produce chemicals, metals and cement."<ref>https://wap.business-standard.com/article/companies/kumar-mangalam-birla-loses-3-bn-as-voda-idea-s-mounting-debt-takes-toll-119112200416_1.html</ref>

===Recognition===

Birla has received several awards, including the International Advertising Association's "CEO of the Year Award" in 2016; the [[US India Business Council]]'s "Global Leadership Award" in 2014; Economic Times “Business Leader Award” in 2003 and 2013; Forbes India Leadership Award – Flagship Award “Entrepreneur of the Year 2012; NDTV Profit Business Leadership Awards 2012, “Most Inspiring Leader”; CNBCTV18 IBLA “Business Leader for Taking India Abroad 2012”; CNN-IBN “Indian of the Year Award 2010”; JRD Tata “Leadership Award 2008”; NDTV's “Global Indian Leader of the Year 2007”.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kumar Mangalam Birla History Maker Founder of Aditya Birla Group|url=https://www.apherald.com/Politics/Read/342384/Kumar-Mangalam-Birla-History-Maker-Founder-of-Aditya-Birla-Group}}</ref>

An educationist, Birla is the Chancellor of [[Birla Institute of Technology & Science]] (BITS). He is chairman of [[IIT Delhi]], [[IIM Ahmedabad]] and chairman of Rhodes India Scholarship Committee for [[Oxford University]]. He serves on London Business School's Asia Pacific Advisory Board and is an honorary fellow of the London Business School.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://businesswireindia.com/news/news-details/london-business-school-honours-mr-kumar-mangalam-birla/1370|title=London Business School Honours Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla|website=Businesswireindia.com|access-date=6 February 2019}}</ref>

==Controversy==

Birla's name significantly surfaced in [[Indian coal allocation scam]], an infamous political scandal that traced its origin to the illegal allocation of coal blocks between 2004 and 2009. [[Central Bureau of Investigation]], in 2013, accused Birla of "influencing the then coal secretary in getting the block, Talabira II in Orissa, allocated to Hindalco, when its was meant only for allocation to public sector firms. The investigative agency said that the block was allocated to Neyveli Lignite and Mahanadi Coalfields (both PSUs) in 2005 but sometime in the middle of the year Birla met Parekh after which the earlier decision of the screening committee was overturned and Hindalco was also accommodated along with the two. This led to notional loss to the exchequer."<ref>https://www.financialexpress.com/archive/kumar-mangalam-birla-embroiled-in-coalgate-case-with-cbi-filing-14th-fir/1183040/</ref> [[Forbes]] report said that the CBI report's remarks on Birla's alleged involvement led to a sharp fall in shares of Birla's companies. [[Hindalco]] "lost 5% before recovering."<ref>https://www.forbes.com/sites/naazneenkarmali/2013/10/15/billionaire-kumar-birla-dragged-into-indias-coalgate-scandal/</ref> However, the then ruling government's leader [[Digvijaya Singh]] told [[The Economic Times]] that Birla has been "the most clean corporate leader" who has never known to be a fly-by-night operator.<ref>https://m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/fir-against-kumar-mangalam-birla-could-have-been-avoided-digvijaya-singh/articleshow/26545864.cms</ref>

In 2014, after Modi Government came to power, CBI filed closure report against Birla.<ref>https://m.businesstoday.in/story/cbi-closure-report-against-kumar-mangalam-birla-coal-scam/1/209815.html</ref>

In 2016, [[Rahul Gandhi]], the opposition leader, accused Birla's firm of paying bribes to the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.<ref>https://www.news18.com/news/india/kumar-mangalam-birla-claims-ignorance-about-alleged-payment-to-pm-modi-1326928.html</ref> However, reportedly, Mr. Gandhi was "upset" at CBI when FIR was filed against Birla in Coal Blocks allocation scam in 2013. [[Coomi Kapoor]] wrote that Birla then happened to be "a benefactor of Rahul's constituency, [[Amethi]]".<ref>http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/when-rahul-gandhi-got-angry-at-cbi-for-kumar-mangalam-birla-fir/1188005/</ref> The Birla Group did not make any donations to the Rahul-led [[Indian National Congress]] in 2012-13 "after being its top donor with a donation of Rs 36.4 crore between 2004-5 and 2011-12." At the same time, Birla was the largest contributor to the [[Bhartiya Janata Party]], donating Rs. 7.05 crore in 2012–13.<ref>https://m.timesofindia.com/india/Birla-group-largest-donor-to-BJPs-poll-fund/articleshow/37220613.cms</ref> Birla was eventually made the Chairman of the [[Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad]] as well as [[Indian Institute of Technology Delhi]] Board of Governors (in 2016) and a non-official independent director of [[Air India]] (in 2018) by Narendra Modi-led BJP government.<ref>https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/kumar-mangalam-birla-y-c-deveshwar-appointed-non-official-directors-in-air-india/article24574649.ece</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of billionaires]]
* [[List of University of London people]]
* [[Indian coal allocation scam]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Aditya Birla Group}}
{{Birla Institute of Technology & Science}}{{Birla family}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birla, Kumar Mangalam}}
[[Category:1967 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of London]]
[[Category:Alumni of London Business School]]
[[Category:Marwari people]]
[[Category:People from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Indian billionaires]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Birla family|Kumar Mangalam]]
[[Category:Indian accountants]]
[[Category:People associated with the University of London]]
[[Category:Aditya Birla Group]]
[[Category:Indian chairpersons of corporations]]

Kumar Mangalam Birla - Revision history

>Swift2469 at 13:04, 30 June 2021